Last year, each player on the Las Vegas Aces received $100,000 from a sponsorship deal with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), which prompted an investigation from the WNBA. There is still no verdict from that investigation—and the LVCVA is continuing its partnership with Aces players.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, each Aces player will receive another $100,000 this year—which is about 40% of the highest annual salary of any WNBA player. The partnership was originally for two seasons, though the Las Vegas roster has changed in the last two years.
All 13 of the team’s players have reportedly signed deals with the LVCVA, including Megan Gustafson, who is out indefinitely with an injury, and Cheyenne Parker-Tyus, who is pregnant with a due date in June.
This sponsorship deal is unique because it involves the entire team—all of whom will earn the same amount of money. In the eyes of some critics, that adds to the appearance that the Aces had something to do with the deal, which could be a backdoor way of paying their players and circumventing the league’s salary structure.
Last May, Aces head coach Becky Hammon said the organization had nothing to do with the deals and that the LVCVA negotiated directly with player representatives.
LVCVA president Steve Hill told the Review-Journal that he has not heard from the WNBA regarding the status of the investigation. The Aces and WNBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Aces are still in the middle of a discrimination lawsuit filed by former player Dearica Hamby in August. The Los Angeles Sparks star alleged the Aces traded her after she disclosed that she was pregnant.
Las Vegas was penalized by the WNBA following Hamby’s complaints. The team lost its 2025 first-round pick, and Hammon was suspended for two games without pay.
